User blog:JohnnyOTGS/The changing of America's Generations
For over 100 years, America has seen many kinds of Generations, and these Generations are often distinctive in each other, sometimes there can be different Generations in one era. This is what this blog page will try to do, just to let you know that this blog will only cover the USA's Generations. 2 Social Psychologists William Strauss ''and ''Neil Howe had did a study on the many differences of America's Generations. They even made up something which is called the Generational Turn, it is when the Generations are either together as one, or divided over something. Mr. Srauss and Mr. Howe have came up with 4 types of Generational Turns. Generational Turns High The "High" Turn is when most (if not all) of the Generations are in agreement on where their society and their beloved nation (the USA in this case) is going. Everybody is nearly the same as individualism is unpopular (or sometimes discredited) as the system is well liked and embraced by the masses. The best example would be after the Allies won World War 2. With the Allies chasing the Nazis back into Germany, and the USA dropping the Atomic Bomb on Japan, the war was won and everybody was in harmony. Patriotism is widely accepted as people were happy that their nations won. Awakening The "Awakening" Turn is when some people are slowly but surely are beginning to develop a sense of individuality and would even go above the system of law in order to follow their hearts. The best example is the Hippie Counter-Culture Movement or "Consciousness Revolution" where a good amount of people in the 1960s began pushing for peace as they believe that their nation is tired of fighting or want their nation to "stop the bloodshed" as they had enough of wars, and in the 1960s the USA got itself involved in Vietnam and a lot of Americans were getting sick and tired of war. Unraveling This Generational Turn is described as basically the opposite of the High Turn. Where Individuality is not only embraced but in some ways encouraged, people want to secure their own lives and even have their own goals to achieve. The Best Example is during the late 1970s with the beginning of what is known as the Culture War and the booming World Economy, this is a battle that is still being fought today. Crisis This Generational Turn is when everybody is in fear as the system is redrawn for the masses to get it behind it. This usually happens when an actual crisis occurs either the beginning of war or another crisis. The best example is when World War 2 began in September of 1939 when Hitler decided to invade Poland, and again when Japan attacked Pearl harbor slightly over 2 years after. Another example is on September 11, 2001 when Terrorists from the Middle East hijacked 4 Boeing 747s bound for the west coast and flew them into the old World Trace Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC. However, this crisis in particular hasn't turned into High (like it did with the End of World War 2). Generations Now, here are America's different generations from the late 19th century to today. Lost Generation (People born from 1883 to 1899) People born from 1883 to 1899 are considered the "Lost Generation", titled by Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway, the Lost Generation is the first known American Generation. This Generation would fight in World War 1 when the USA got involved in 1917 as the nation helped the Western powers defeat the Central Powers in Europe. They were called the "Lost Generation" as in "No Direction" especially after World War 1 and during Prohibition and the rise of Organized Crime in the USA where Crime Bosses (such as Al Capone) would get rich off of people's desire to drink alcohol (which was criminalized in this era), but perhaps the greatest example of being "Lost" is when the US' Stock Markets crashed in October of 1929 and many people of this generation would lose their jobs and desperate for work and food. GI Generation (People Born from 1900 to 1929) AKA the "Greatest Generation" this Generation would be well known for their military service in their adulthood as they begin to believe and fight for "The Greater Good". Though, some people of this Generation would also fight in World War 1 and even feel the effects of Organized Crime and The Great Depression (anybody born from 1900 to 1909) as they strive for work and food. But by the latter part of this Generation (from 1910 to 1929) would follow their fathers and/or grandfathers who fought in WW1 to fight in World War 2. But this war also saw the first time where women on a massive scale also participated, they may not have fought but they helped out by being factory workers and even nurses taking care of the soldiers wounded on the field of battle. Silent Generation (People born from 1930 to Mid 1945) This Generation would grow up in during the "High" Generational Turn where everybody is in agreement and individualism is unpopular. Very few people were born in this generation due to The Great Depression and the higher cost for women to raise a child. This generation would also go on to fight in the Korean War in the 1950s which ended in a stalemate between north and south. Baby Boomers (People Born from Late 1945 to 1969) This Generation would be born during the massive soar of birth rates around the world. At least the former part of the Generation (from late 1945 to 1959) tend to be the most physically fit and the healthiest and (in some ways) the most wealthy of previous generations since they were born after a worldwide conflict. Baby Boomers are also the first to have full access to Television from their childhood as well as experiencing the rise of the music genre: Rock & Roll, Rock Stars such as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and eventually the "British Invasion" of the 1960s with The Beatles ''and ''The Rolling Stones. This Generation would also experience of "The Red Menace" where USA's propaganda machine does it's "Hate and Fear" approach (as in to "Hate" the Communist oppression and "Fear" the might and power of The USSR) Though, some people of this Generation would go on to fight in the Vietnam War, but there are some of this Generation that would oppose the "War Mongering" system and become defiant "Hippies" as they would march all over the nation protesting the war in large numbers. Generation Jones (People born from 1970 to 1976) A quite odd Generation, eventhough this is the first Generation to grow up without having to worry about fighting in a war (excluding the Cold War), but this Generation grew up in the midst of the "Culture War" where cultures and people were in competition with each other (hence the term "Keeping up with the Joneses" was coined). This Generation would also see the rise of the Music Genre: Disco (especially with groups such as The Bee Gees) where roller dance clubs became popular as well as styles like Afros and Platform Shoes even became a popular fashion trend. Generation X (People born from 1977 to 1989) This generation would grow up at the height of the Cold War and where tensions between the USA and the USSR are beginning to loosen. What has happened during Generation Jones greatly effected Generation X. Divorce rates soared during Generation Jones, which meant Generation X'ers had considerably less Prental Supervision than previous Generations. Generation X'ers were also born after "Racial Integration" so they're also considerably less racist than previous generations. Generation X would also see the rise of Video Games post-Video Game Crash (which occurred in 1983) the rise of Nintendo and it's first console (the Nintendo Entertainment System) would go on to make the video game industry an economic powerhouse. Generation X would also see the "Golden age of Television" where there was a bit of everything for everybody. Children in this Generation would enjoy Cartoons such as Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles where the generation X Teens and Adults would enjoy shows such as Knight Rider and The A-Team, it was also the beginning of Cable TV which gave more variety of television programs instead of watching mainstream TV, programs such as MTV and Nickelodeon were the prime examples. Millennials (People born from 1990 to 2005) The next recent Generation (AKA "Generation Y"), quite possibly the most individualistic generation as most assert themselves better than previous Generations, much like Baby Boomers with those who lived pretty much like their parents did before them, and with those who lived like Hippies and went against "The System" and protest the Vietnam War, but this is on a grander scale. People in this Generation are also more politically divided than previous Generations since this takes place at the Height of the "Culture War", even with the 9/11 Terror Attacks this battle is still being fought. Speaking of the attacks, Millennials also live in the fear and hate of Arabic People, though religion is less important then it was in previous Generations They also felt (somewhat, depending on the part of this era they were born) the effects of the Great Recession where finding a job is difficult, especially one that can pay enough for them to leave their parents' house, leading to an increased rate of Millennial kids not leaving their parents' house either after High School or College. Millennials will also see the rapid rise of modern technology. Devices such as Computers, Portable Telephones and even Video Game Consoles rapidly upgraded during the Millennials era. Generation Z (People Born from 2006 to 2019) The majority of this Generation is still growing up, but it has been agreed that they will be born from 2006 (after the Great recession) until 2019. What is known so far is that Generation Z'ers will have full access to today's technology such as Wireless Internet, Laptop Computers and Smartphones from childhood. That is it for this blog. Don forget to check out my Games and Movies wiki. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out. Category:Blog posts